Young Coconut
The "soul food of the tropics"? The coconut palm rates very high in many parts of the world--from food staple to baskets, cooking oil, cosmetics, furniture, household utensils-- the coconut palm is a tree that provides all that is considered necessary in the daily lives of about one-third of the world's population.
Historians believe that many of the regions where coconut palms grow received their trees via the sea - little buoyant vessels that floated across huge oceans, coming ashore in South-east Asia, India, the Pacific Islands, Hawaii, South America, Florida. Although it is not known where the coconut originated, Malaysia and Indonesia seem to be the likely places. In India, the coconut palm was known as "kalpa vriksha" - tree that gives all that is necessary for living! From Marco Polo (encountered coconuts in India) to Arab traders who carried coconut shells to England before Portuguese sailors reached East Africa - perhaps during the 14th century - these traders encountered the Maldives, great shipbuilders, who built vessels for them made out of products from the coconut trees including the hulls, masts, ropes, sails, etc.
A nobleperson from Venice - Antonio Pigafetta - boarded one of Magellan's five ships during his voyage from Spain in 1519 in an effort to find a western route to the Spice Islands - a trip that may have gone unrecorded if not for Pigafetta's curiousity and good daily journal keeping! Magellan's journeys were not all trouble-free, as he encountered disease and starvation along the way, and when he decided to go ashore as a last resort on Guam, unfriendly natives greeted his party wearing coconut shell masks and shaking coconut shell rattles. He negotiated and left with much needed provisions and a very good supply of coconuts. In his journal Pigafetta wrote: "Coconuts are the fruit of the palm trees. And as we have bread, wine, oil and vinegar, so they get all these things from the said trees ... With two of these palm trees a whole family of ten can sustain itself...they last for a hundred years."
Many travelers made mention of coconuts, however, they remained very much unkown out- side of their tropical placements until around the 1830s when an Englishperson named J.W.Bennett wrote about the coconut, revealing that the charcoal from the shell, for example, was a beneficial tooth cleanser, and the water from the coconut helped remove wrinkles - European interest in the "nut" was spurred!
With sugar plentiful in Europe during this time period, candy and pastry businesses boomed. Fruits and nuts were incorporated into confections, and naturally the coconut flesh was quite desirable. Because of the expense involved in shipping whole coconuts to England a French Company - JH Vavasseur and Company - set up shop in Ceylon with a unique solution to the expensive shipping issue: shred the coconut flesh, dry it thoroughly (less spoilage and easier to pack) and it ship off to destinations demanding it. By the middle 1800s, 6,000 tons of desiccated coconut were being shipped. This figure multiplied by ten in 1900.
Demand for coconuts did not take off in the US until around 1895 when a Philadelphia flour miller received a shipload of coconuts (payment for a debt from a Cuban businessman). Because coconuts were relatively new to the US, and Franklin Baker was therefore not making much progress in selling his product, he determined that the coconuts needed to be in the hands of the culinary inspired. His solution: a factory to shred and dry his load of coconuts. And take off the coconut did ... by the early 1900s the rage was coconut cream pie, coconut custard, coconut frosting for all kinds of desserts, coconut cookies and other sweet creations.
There are two major stages of maturity for the coconut: Young Coconut-prized for its sweet, revitalizing juice - the meat is very thin, soft and sweet, and of interest to raw food lovers. Mature Coconut-thick, firm flesh used in shredded form world-wide mostly for baked goods. The mature coconut flesh is very nutty and has a somewhat chewy texture with a much higher oil content than the young coconut.
Early explorers thought that the three eyes at the base of the coconut was similar to a goblin or grinning face - coco meaning goblin - and so it was named.
The coconut tree is considered one of the most useful in the world - for financial security, food, drink, shelter, and clothing. The coconut is rightfully referred to as the "tree of life". The coconut is considered to be very nutritious - it does not contain cholesterol because coconuts are plant food, and the only foods that contain cholesterol are foods that come from animals. There was, however, a scare of sorts regarding coconuts a few years ago when a study concluded that coconuts were BAD food. Fortunately, the study was flawed because it looked at hydrogenated coconut oil, which is BAD. The more a coconut matures, however, the more saturated the oil becomes - the liquid and flesh of the young coconut is incredibly nutritious - high amounts of potassium and other minerals. Young coconuts have been found to be good for the heart, liver and kidneys. Combining the water and jelly-like flesh of the young coconut provides a very tasty and nutritious smoothie. Simply drain the water out of the young coconut, remove the top with a knife, scoop out the soft white flesh and blend until smooth. The average young coconut contains under 150 calories and provides about 20% of your daily requirement of calcium, 2 grams of fiber, 28 grams of carbs, 2 grams of protein, 15 grams of sugar 3 grams of saturated fat. Coconut water contains a full spectrum of B vitamins (sorry no B6 or B12) and vitamin C.
The water from the young coconut has been used in medical emergencies as a substitute for glucose. During WWII, the water became the glucose supply when there was no sterile glucose available. Because of the high content of lauric acid in coconut oil, in its unrefined state, coconut oil is very beneficial - lauric acid has strong anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties. The fatty acids of extra virgin coconut oil and milk are easily assimilated - they are not stored in the body like animal fats - and studies of populations where coconuts are a staple in the diet show low serum cholesterol levels, and minimal heart disease issues. Other studies have shown that high metabolic rates exist in populations where coconut oil is used on a daily basis.
Food fact: the cylindrical stalks of the new leaf shoots at the top of the coconut tree are eaten fresh in salads and other dishes -- the hearts of palm.
The coconut tree takes seven years of growing before coconuts appear - commonly considered a nut, and is the largest of all fruit seeds -- trees generally reach 60 to 100 feet tall.